For soldier's 11-year-old sister, dogtag is worth 'a million dollars'

View full sizeDan PerezDanielle Perez poses with her brother Andre (right) and Maj. Gen. Raymond Rees at Andre's deployment in November 2009.

Eleven-year-old Danielle Perez wrote this letter for a fifth-grade writing assignment at Hazeldale Elementary about her brother, Army Spc. Andre Perez. Home on leave, he returns to Afghanistan this week to serve the rest of his yearlong term with the 162nd.

Dan and Laurie Perez of Beaverton sent a copy of Danielle's letter to The Oregonian, saying, "Danielle is very proud of Andre and loves him so much; we think this would touch the heart of others as much as it does ours."

Here's her essay.

My Brother's Dogtag

Have you ever had something very important, or special to you even though it might not be worth a lot of money? Well I have. About four or five months ago, one of my brothers left for Afghanistan. Every soldier who is in the Army gets a dogtag. The dogtags are like an ID that proves you are in the Army. Well, anyways, before my brother left, he gave me one of his dogtags. And ever since, it has been one of the most valuable things I have ever owned.

The dogtag is very important to me because it has his name on it. Andre Perez. My brother is very far away right now so having something that belonged to him makes me feel special inside and out.

I always have my dogtag with me. If I'm not wearing it, it's in my pocket. Most people don't understand the importance of it. Well, I do. The dogtag I have isn't just any old dogtag. Mine came from the U.S. Army. My dogtag is 100% real. A lot of times when people hear the word dogtag, they think of it as a plain one, or one with a team name on it. Although when I hear it, I think of my brother. The same one who is risking his life to save our country.

So even though my dogtag isn't worth a lot of money, well, to me, it's worth a million dollars. And that is how important my brother is to me.